Pharma marketers are producing plenty of exceptional creative work in the DTC realm. There are also plenty that prompt quick checks to make sure that one hasn't inadvertently clicked over to The Onion.

Ad pushes behind brands like Gilead Sciences' hepatitis-C pill Harvoni and Allergan's IBS drug Viberzi buoyed med-surg outlays for the first six months of 2016. Cancer drugs once again were the hottest category.